“It is important whether I “fall in love” with the story or not.”- Kimberley Lim

Team Kitaab interviews Kimberley Lim – an editor, who runs a literary magazine and a publishing house and tries to understand what makes her choose a manuscript.

It is always interesting and enriching to know the journeys of people in the field of literature. Ranging from editors to book marketers, everyone shares a common love for the written word, and yet the way they see a book is so different.

Recently, Team Kitaab had the opportunity to be in conversation with Kimberley Lim. Kim is a freelance book editor as well as the managing editor of Gaudy Boy, an NYC-based indie press that publishes Asian voices. She also runs the online literary magazine www.ofzoos.com.

Her journey is unique, just like everybody else’s. And so is her goal. But when you interact with her, you realize the love and passion for creating stories is what is unflinchingly common. Let’s know a bit more about her.

Team Kitaab: Did you always dream of working in the literary field? How did your journey start and how has it been so far?

Kimberley Lim: Yes! I’d always loved reading and writing as a kid, so it was an easy choice for me to opt to study literature throughout my schooling years. At first, I tried exploring journalism but found that I didn’t enjoy the rigid deadlines and structure, and so the natural path from there was to venture into book publishing. I did one or two internships before finally landing my first gig at a publishing house in New York City. Today, I’ve progressed on to freelance book editing while volunteering on the side as managing editor for Gaudy Boy, an indie house that publishes Asian voices from all over the world and an imprint of the literary nonprofit Singapore Unbound.